How To: Change Headlamp / Headlight bulb

These are the ones I bought.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-4300K-HID-35W-Xenon-OEM-Replacement-Bulbs-D4R_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3efa2d94e7QQitemZ270485263591QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

i have to ask why would i remove all of those parts from the bumper to the under guard ... when all i am doing is replacing the actual HID bulbs?

 

Agreed!... .when you have the manual and your fancy high speed tools, it may be easier to remove the bumper and fatten your check more by charging for such.. but for the layperson, that's ridiculous.

If they just reached in there and changed the bulb, they couldn't charge so much for labor could they?

Once you've done it, its a 15 minute job on each side..... I guess when you go to school and become a real mechanic you have to take the front end of the car apart to change a bulb... LOL!

 

ive watched all the videos i can about changing the entire car into a sunflower just to change the bulb ... but its very simple to do ... remove the washer fluid container ... some jiggling on the dirver side with the fuse box ... and bam your done ... why not just do it like a puzzle ... remove everything .. every nut and bolt ... just to see how the seats adjust back and forth ... too funny ... ok mine wasnt that funny ... its been a LONG day

 

windstrings you my friend are a GOD !!!! i followed your directions to the "T" .. and now i can say my headlights are ROCKIN a set of 8000k tinted blue headlights !!!!

thank YOU

 

Thanks Bud.. but Im not Him!.. just look at my Avatar!

 

I finally had to change the driver's side headlight in my 2002 Prius after 188,000 miles. Bought new 9003 bulbs at NAPA for $6.70 each. Took me about 20 minutes once I read the owner's manual. I did take off a grounding wire in addition to pulling out the top of the washer fluid container. Used a 10mm socket wrench and a pair of latex gloves.

 

This thread does talk about HID's as well has Halogen.... gets confusing for the new guys.. but Halogen are cheap anyway....
The HIDs are the ones people have historically been getting raped on.

 

PC to the rescue yet again! I noticed my right front (halogen) was out over the weekend. Thanks to a link here somewhere I'd seen the Luscious Garage video where she does a 3 minute HID replacement on the driver's side. I looked at the right side and decided that a few plastic pieces wouldn't be a problem. Hadn't looked into bulb options tho so I called the dealer. They quoted $100 labor and $30 for a bulb. $130 for one side. I was kind of thinking I'd like to do both sides and $260 just didn't sound interesting.

$23 at Schuck's (soon to be O'Reilly) and I had 2 Sylvania XTRAVISION 9003/HB2 H4 bulbs. They have a shorter lifespan than the standard 3100K but should offer more light.

When I got my current bulbs out I noticed that they were PIAA Xtreme White. Must have been put in by the previous owner (who also put on PIAA fogs). They had a slight blue tint to the bulb glass.

Hardest part about putting in the new bulbs was probably getting the boot back on nicely, working by feel alone. The new bulbs didn't change the beam height any and a quick test drive looked good and didn't cause anyone to flash at me.

I think just about anyone can do this bit of work and save a bundle of cash.

- D

 

Your post is confusing to those who may be new to all this....

You quoted a

about a 3 minute HID replacement, but the bulb you mention is Halogen?

Big difference!...

Anyway... the "woman" in that video knows what she is doing, has obviously done it many times before and has "very" tiny hands.
Not being able to access is the whole problem here.

Even with my medium sized man hands, I'm sure I could shave it down to less than 10 minutes if I did it enough times and even less with tiny little woman hands.

The Passenger side involves removing the washer basin in most cases unless you already have "memorized" how to do it.

I bet if you asked that "lady" in that video how long it took her the first time she did it, it would be approaching 20 - 30 min... and she appears to be a proficient mechanic that has her hands into cars everyday.

I'm just saying, its encouraging to see it can be done faster if all conditions are perfect, but people shouldn't get frustrated because it takes quite a bit longer as the hole is pretty small and its in a very uncomfortable place to get your hands into.

Merely removing one of the large relay fuses on the drivers side helped me... with smaller hands that too would have been a non issue.

this is a little bit like flipping a quarter between your fingers...its easy with enough practice.

 

Thanks for linking the video! My point about Carolyn's 3 minute HID change was merely in reference to how crazy it is for a dealer to charge $100 labor per side on the job. HID is more difficult than halogen so from watching that (and looking at my car) I was confident that I'd be able to manage it. Slower, sure, but possible. Taking my time I think I was at it for about 1 hour in the garage to do both sides. And I don't have small hands.
To get at the passenger side I didn't need to remove the washer reservoir. Just the radiator cover trim and the plastic vent riser (not sure what it's called!) that is in front of the washer reservoir. Driver's side was just a matter of the fuse box cover. Once those bits of plastic are off both sides are equally accessible.

- D

 

I'm pretty convinced labor charges are are marketable item.... in other words, they don't charge whats fair, or how many hours it actually cost, they charge as much as they can get away with based on what the market will bear.

If insurance is paying, the market will bear more.
If no one else or other mechanics know how to do it... the charge is more .... because they can.
If the public eye is on them and they know they are being watched and are accountable for what they charge.... its cheaper!

The days of looking in the book to see how many hours it takes and then charging you based on that only apply if there is competition..... anytime there is a monopoly, there is abuse.

 

Absolutely, if I'd taken the car in and they'd actually finished the job in 15 minutes they still would have put 2 hours on the ticket and charged me for it. PC saves the day!

 

Not to make this a B#$ session, but reality is that allows them time to work on other cars and bounce around doing other things... you still wait 2 hours so it looks legit and pay for 2 hours.... it may have only took them a few minutes and btw... I doubt they drop the bumper unless they are really clueless... yet they charge you as if they did.

Just good to know stuff to make people realize this isn't a major operation and most can do it if they can change the oil in a car they've never worked on before, this only a little little more of a challenge, and maybe less if you have small hands.

 

Just finished replacing the bulb on the driver's side--WHAT A PAIN IN THE ***! As impressed as I usually am with Toyota's engineering, this was BADLY done. My Corolla was a piece of cake to replace anything.

 

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I replaced my head lamps using Carquest lamps. I used the Phillips H4 after market at $11 each.

They had 3 additional sets all from Phillips. They ranged from $35 to $47. $47 was for the Phillips that are discussed in previous posts.
Carquest did not recommend any of these for normal driving. The $35 set was an improvement on the standard lamps. The $40 set was the blue lights that some like.

The videos were a great help. My only issue was the boot on the Drivers side did not want to come off.

I just kept turning back and forth and it finally broke the seal.

I would also recommend you purchase some electrical grease for the lamps or plug to upgrade the old stuff and maintain the seal. You can also use this for the boot seal as well.

Now I should get another 100000 miles or 5 years.

 

According to the Philips website, the current model of X-treme Power for a 2006 Prius is 9003XPS2.
There are no 9004 models.
Is this the same bulb?

Thanks -

 

2007 prius II has a HID or halogen bulb?

how to tell if prius 2007 II has a halogen bulb or hid bulb....what is the difference (beside the price)?